1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to apparatus for opening and closing doors and, in particular, to apparatus for opening and closing doors on autoclave and sterilizer chambers.
2. Description of the Invention Background
Sterilizers and autoclaves are known in the art and are generally used in hospitals, industrial laboratories and other facilities for the purpose of sterilizing various solid, porous, and liquid articles. Typically, the sterilizer or autoclave chamber is located in a wall between a controlled environment room such as a laboratory or an operating room and an adjacent room wherein the strict environmental controls and parameters are not maintained.
Vertically sliding doors are typically used in connection with such machines because they require a minimum of space in relation to the size of the opening they provide and they do not interfere with the loading and unloading of the machine. Such vertically sliding doors can be controlled by motor-controlled cables which serve to move the door between open and closed positions. Those cable controlled doors, however, have a number of disadvantages.
For example, the cable controlled chamber doors, due to the routing and location of the cables, generally require large gear motors to control the cables. Because sterilizers have a substantial amount of piping and valves associated therewith, the large gear motor is typically surrounded by piping and plumbing fixtures that make it difficult to service the gear motor. In addition, the cables normally associated with those doors typically consist of braided wire which is difficult to adequately clean. Because the cable is difficult to clean and typically routed in close proximity to the sterilizer opening, the likelihood of contacting the cable and thus contaminating the sterile articles as they are being unloaded from the sterilizer is increased.
Thus the need exists for a cable controlled door arrangement for opening and closing chamber doors wherein smaller gear motors may be used and wherein the cable and pulleys do not interfere with the loading and unloading of the sterilizer chamber. The need also exists for a cable and pulley controlled autoclave and sterilizer door system that is conducive to the cleaning procedures and requirements commonly associated with environmentally controlled rooms. There is a further need for a cable controlled door system for autoclaves and sterilizers wherein smaller gear motors may be used.